2007年VOA标准英语-Bush to Push for Stronger Iran Sanctions

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
24 May 2007

President Bush says he will seek stronger sanctions on Iran, following a new U.N. report that accuses Tehran of accelerating its nuclear-enrichment program. VOA's Paula Wolfson has details from the White House.

President Bush speaks to the media during a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House, 24 May 2007

The president makes clear Iran's defiance¹ of international demands will not be tolerated.

"My view is that we need to strengthen our sanctions regime," he said.

Mr. Bush says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will begin negotiations² with other nations on an expanded U.N. sanctions regime. And he says he will get personally involved in talks on the matter with Russia and China.

"The first thing that these leaders have got to understand is that an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly destabilizing for the world," he said. " It is in their interest that we continue to work collaboratively to isolate³ that regime."

An International Atomic Energy Agency report issued Wednesday said Iran has neither stopped enriching uranium, as demanded by the Security Council, nor has it opened its nuclear facilities to the extent sought by monitors.

The IAEA says that lack of transparency is compromising its ability to track the Iranian nuclear program, which Tehran says is designed for peaceful purposes.

The United States and its allies have said monitoring is crucial because the type of nuclear technology sought by Iran can also be used to create nuclear weapons. The IAEA chief has said Iran may be able to produce weapons in as few as three years.

The nuclear issue is just one of the factors causing increased tensions between the United States and Iran. Washington recently moved two aircraft carriers and seven ships into the Persian Gulf⁴ for military maneuvers⁵. And Iran is detaining several American citizens, including a leading Iranian-American scholar who works for a Washington-based foreign policy research organization.

At a White House news conference, President Bush said Washington has made its concerns known to Tehran.

"We have made it very clear to the Iranian government that the detention⁶ of good decent American souls who are there to be beneficial citizens is not acceptable behavior," he said.

The United States and Iran are expected to hold talks Monday in Baghdad on the security situation in Iraq. The White House says those talks will not include the nuclear issue or Iran's detention of American citizens.

1 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

6 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。